Free Access

Disclaimer

The views expressed on this blog reflect the personal opinion of the individual author and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of NFPA, its technical committees, or other constituent parts. Use of this blog is subject to NFPA's Terms of Use and Content Disclaimers.

Oklahoma

01/09/2015

In the coming weeks and months, we’ll be sharing 2014 highlights from the Firewise Communities/USA® Recognition Program. We applaud the dedication of the communities across the United States who prepare for wildfire and the focus they bring to preparedness.

Last year, 165 new communities achieved Firewise recognition from 25 different states. The combined volunteer and project work in 2014 for just these new communities to Firewise accounted for over $1.75 million in local preparedness, education and mitigation efforts.

With 27 new communities, Colorado saw the strongest growth in 2014. I asked Courtney Peterson, Wildfire Mitigation Education Coordinator and the State Firewise Liaison with the Colorado State Forest Service, what the value of Firewise is to the state.

Courtney shared with me that, “the Firewise Communities/USA® program is an excellent tool for bringing Colorado communities together. The program enables communities to take ownership in preparing their homes against the threat of wildfire while establishing networks and relationships with local partners.”

In addition to the top 5 growth states, we are equally impressed with the work of all of the new recognized communities, especially where that 1 community rose to the challenge and is now making a difference.

Today's case study highlights the hard work the Four Forest Restoration Initiative and other stakeholders have done to create sustainable ecosystems by restoring forests to their natural and healthy state. In the process, they have also managed to create a sustainable wood products industry and increase jobs throughout the region. Check out the Guide to Fire Adapted Communities for more case studies on communities taking action to reduce their wildfire risk.

Photo credit: Four Forest Restoration Initiative

Case Study: Accomplishing Creative Forest Restoration

Four national forests in Arizona—Kaibab, Coconino, Apache-Sitgreaves, and Tonto—are actively engaged in the collaborative, landscape scale Four Forest Restoration Initiative. Together with a diverse group of stakeholders, the four forests are working to restore ponderosa pine forests, providing for fuels reduction, forest health, and biodiversity, while creating sustainable wood products industries and jobs in the region. Through innovative use of GPS technology, managers are carrying out 40 different prescriptions for forest thinning that are specifically tailored to ecosystems and wildlife habitats in each area as demonstrated by the before and after photographs.

05/05/2014

A controlled burn* that got out of control due to high winds Sunday night has burned over 3,000 acres near Guthrie, Oklahoma, just north of Oklahoma City. Over 20 homes and out-structures have been raised and 1 life has been lost, with over 1000 residents evacuated. Though 75% contained as of Monday afternoon, high winds and hot, dry weather continue to fuel the fast-moving fire and 150 homes remain under threat.

In speaking with Brian Hall this morning, Forest Health/Protection Staff Foster with the Oklahoma Forest Services, he stressed the importance of “defensible space concepts,” explaining that this focuses residents on easy to do activities that reduce the wildfire threat to homes. As the fire unfolds, Oklahoma Forest Services wants residents to take responsibility of creating defensible space for firefighters so they can be more effective and safe around homes and within communities. Firewise principles echo this important message.

Brain also shared that while Eastern Red Cedar, prevalent in Oklahoma, does pose a challenge when containing wildfires, it is not the main reason wildfires continues to burn out of control. He noted that the combination of cured vegetation and high winds are the reasons they are having issues regarding current containment efforts.

“It’s important to
have homeowners who understand that they have a role to play and that taking
action is extremely helpful to reducing the overall wildfire exposure risk for
their community,” says Mark Goeller, State Fire Management Chief for Oklahoma Forestry
Services. Goeller, who was interviewed in the most recent issue of the Firewise
“How To” newsletter, discussed the changes in wildfire awareness and management
in his state, and the benefits of the
Firewise program, drawing knowledge from his more than 25 years of
experience in the field. Oklahoma, which has risen to 9th in the
nation with the Firewise Communities Program,
has seen an increase in wildfire activity in recent years. Last August the
state lost 580 homes in the first weekend of the month alone due to drought.
But according to Goeller, “even small actions taken by the homeowner matter.”

Goeller says one of the strengths of the Firewise Communities Program is its
emphasis on personal responsibility. “The bottom line is, when a wildfire strikes,
we don’t have enough resources to allocate and defend every single house that
is exposed. Taking personal responsibility for wildfire preparedness around the
home and maintaining defensible space matters.”

07/15/2013

Patrick Mahoney who works with
communities in states like Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Lousiana,
Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Tennessee, did a
question and answer feature in our Firewise Summer “How To” Newsletter. During his work as a
wildfire mitigation specialist in southwest Florida, Mahoney assisted small
neighborhoods in achieving Firewise recognition. He has served as a public
information officer on small and large fire incidents.

In this feature he answers an array of
questions regarding different challenges, success stories and general Firewise
concerns. Check out this article! If you
are a resident in one of the above listed states and want more information
regarding Firewise and how your community can be officially recogznied, feel
free to contact Patrick at firewisepatrick@nfpa.org.

Julie organized and publicized her seminar very well. Although it was a small group, Julie felt that the key individuals who would spread the word about what they had learned were in attendance. She had arranged for three speakers in addition to me. Brian Hall, the Firewise Coordinator with Oklahoma Forestry Services, Nick
Jones, a district conservationist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Bob Nail with the Skiatook (OK) Fire Department. We covered everything from land management and fire ecology to Firewise practices and success stories. As a "sparkplug" himself, Bob Nail discussed local Firewise success stories and how important it
is to find that “spark plug” in the community - the person who will talk to neighbors and get folks motivated to take action.

I was also happy that Julie had connected with local media. The News on 6 reporter interviewed several of us, including participants, resulting in a great story!

06/12/2013

George Geissler, the Oklahoma Forestry Service State Forester discusses how the Firewise Communities/USA recognition program helps educate communities on how to lessen damage caused by wildfire. During the interview Mr. Geissler talked about the importance of state wildland firefighters working with local and volunteer fire districts and the part citizens can play in mitigating fire danger.

05/17/2013

Upon the invitation of the Oklahoma State Forester - George Giessler, Todd Chlanda and I had the opportunity to attend the Oklahoma Governor’s Wildfire Preparedness Conference in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma this past Monday. The conference was very well supported with over 185 fire and emergency, and town planning professionals from throughout the state in attendance.

The importance of this initiative cannot be understated. Last year, while national media was fixating on the Waldo-Canyon Fire in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Oklahoma was dealing with its own quiet crisis. Last year in the state of Oklahoma wildfires destroyed over 680 homes and business structures, with over 114,000 acres of land being burned.

Mary Fallin the Oklahoma Governor was the keynote speaker and gave an outstanding speech in support of all the work that the emergency management, forestry services and fire departments do. The Governor endorsed the Firewise Communities/USA® recognition program and reinfornced how important community action is when it comes wildfire preparedness and mitigation.

Oklahoma was one of the top performing states last year moving from 28 recognized communities to 41 communities. Jim Reese the Secretary of Agriculture was quick to point out that Oklahoma was 3rd in the nation on a per captita basis when it comes to the number of recognized sites. Moving forward this state performance metric will be documented on an annual basis in the Firewise Communities/USA Executive Summary.

Governor Fallin experienced first-hand the Oklahoman destruction and loss when she visited communities throughout the State last year during the major fire events. One of the cute stories that she shared was the day they adopted a Labrador from the local animal shelter that had been displaced because of the wildfires. When the dog was brought home her three children deliberated on what to call him. The initial suggestion was to call him “Hotdog”. In keeping with the family sentiment, the Governor being the good politician she is, was able to persuade the family to choose the more congenial name “Burnie” for the new family member.

On a more serious note, it was interesting to learn from Steven Glasgow (State Resource Conservationist) how the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRSC) is beginning to realize that they too have a big role to play in the National Wildland Fire Management Cohesive Strategy for wildfire in Oklahoma. Oklahoma has 44 million acres of land that has a fire-based ecology. Steven highlighted the important role that private landowners, especially agricultural and private woodlot landowners could play in mitigating the wildfire risk not only on their landholdings but their adjoining neighbors who often times could be a residential community. He went on to state that wildland fire mitigation is a very important consideration that is often neglected by landowners with dire economic and ecological consequences. The NRSC administers many financial incentive program opportunities for private landowners. One of the notable NRCS financial incentives programs that allow for natural resource planning and fuel mitigation is the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). This program allows for adjoining private landowners to mitigate their properties and has proven especially helpful when these properties abut residential communities.